Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported today, after a month long investigation, the ongoing threat posed by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) to residents across a wide swathe of the northern-most region of the DR Congo (DRC) and extending into the Central African Republic (CAR). This remote area is an ideal area of operations for the LRA after years of operating in northern Uganda and southern Sudan. Abductions, rapes, killings, and looting are the hallmark of this directionless band of guerilla fighters that rely considerably on kidnapped children to fill their ranks. As noted by the HRW report, "Three of the LRA's leaders, including Kony and Odhiambo, are sought by the International Criminal Court under arrest warrants issued in July 2005 for war crimes and crimes against humanity in northern Uganda. " A very good account of the strategy and obstacles to securing the surrender of Kony and the LRA during peace talks (c. 2007) can be found at the Enough Project. After Kony backed out, again, a US supported regional military campaign in late 2008 disrupted the LRA in the DRC but did not capture their leadership and only pushed them deeper into the DRC and CAR. HRW is using this report to put pressure on the Obama administration to implement legislation signed by the President less than three months ago (I have to admit I had not heard about this until now). The Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009 is supported by a large number of NGOs as well as powerful Senators Feingold (D-WI) and Brownback (R-KA). The complete text of the legislation is available here. Most pressing for President Obama is a requirement to submit a strategy to Congress within 180 days of the signing of the Act, which means before the end of November 2010.

A statue in Arusha, Tanzania honoring local TPDF soldiers who died during the war with Idi Amin (1978-79)

Author

Chris WJ Roberts is a Canadian international business and policy consultant; a student of African politics, international relations, and Canadian foreign policy working towards a PhD in political science at the University of Alberta; and an instructor in political science at the University of Calgary (2014-2018).

This irregular blog provides an outlet for an "entrepreneurial academic" to make small interventions around the theme of Africa in the World. In many respects it acts as a research notebook, capturing issues, sources, and ideas to be used for more detailed analysis in the future.